Ex-Skyrim dev explains why The Elder Scrolls 6 was announced so early

An artist who worked on both Fallout and Skyrim has explained why he thinks The Elder Scrolls 6 was announced in 2018, many years before the game is expected to come out.

GTA 6 aside, The Elder Scrolls 6 is arguably the most anticipated game in development. After Skyrim became a global sensation back in 2011, the follow-up was announced almost eight years ago during Bethesda’s E3 conference.

But as of 2026, there’s still no sign that the long-awaited RPG is anywhere close to being released. Fans have been analysing everything Bethesda says and does, consistently speculating that a release could be imminent, while Todd Howard has insisted that it’s still quite far away.

Some reports have even suggested that we could be waiting until 2028, which would be a decade on from its initial reveal. Now, Nate Purkeypile, the former lead artist on Skyrim, who also worked on all of the modern Fallout games, has shared some insight on why the game was announced so early.

Former Bethesda devssays ES6 was announced because of Starfield

“My assumption was always that we were announcing Starfield, and it had been so long already since Skyrim that we needed to make sure people were not just p***ed at us,” he told Esports Insider. “It’s a very expensive way to do that, though. Those trailers are not cheap.”

Starfield was actually revealed at the same E3 press conference that ES6 was announced at, before being released five years later.

He went on to add that Bethesda are probably taking its time due to just how much expectation there is on Elder Scrolls 6, and praised the publisher for being more comfortable with delays, something that “was not really the case” during his time there.

Ultimately, Purkeypile said that while the wait for ES6 will be long, it’ll be better for both players and the development team when it finally arrives.

“I think there is less economic pressure to just get Elder Scrolls VI out on a date, but there is more economic pressure to actually make sure it’s good, and I think that’s a good thing,” he continued. “That’s healthy so long as they’re also honest with the team about that.”